"Mean"opause

Menopause is just mean.
Therefore, it really should be spelled "Mean"opause.
For those of you who know what I mean, well, you know what I mean!
Did I get you to chuckle?
Well, I've been doing a bit of reading about this change in life and it seems that laughter really can be the best medicine...
I have really been spiraling with my health in the last year, both physically and mentally.  My anxiety levels have been at an all time high, kicking off a fight or flight response that could prime me for war.  Instead, I have been at war with myself. As in Proverbs 17:3, the Lord has been testing my heart just as the crucible is for silver and the fiery furnace is for gold.  Not to mention the fiery furnace that my body has turned into!

At first I didn't know what was wrong with me as my memory quickly faded and soon I was writing post-it notes with my kids' names on them!  Just kidding.  Did you chuckle again?  I sure did when I read that "somewhere." (Of course I don't remember where:)  But the problem is that now I can't read the post-it notes because my vision has faded too!
Sometimes I don't know whether to laugh or cry, so I do both...This part is like being pregnant but no sweet baby to show for it!  The same goes for the over-grown belly.  Yep, I look 5 months pregnant but no baby to excuse the growth. Yet we still remain open to new life, despite the slimmer possibilities.
Essentially I've become like my 7 year-old's transformer..."transformed" into one big sweaty mood swing!  Doesn't this sound mean?
Preparing for my 45th birthday in 2 weeks and feeling rather "picked on", I have come to realize that I am not alone...After reading Lisa Hendey's article, I decided to write about it too.  Especially after reading the scripture that inspired me this morning (read below).
I've come to learn that this meanopause is a gradual process of change that effects everyone differently.  As our bodies change with these many symptoms, the time of transition is called peri-meanopause.  How long is the suffering?  It's different for everyone but it doesn't usually happen over night.  Therefore, the term long suffering. (wink)
What to do?
There are no easy answers!
I'm aiming for these:
Laugh, (Eat Chocolate), and Pray...
Oh, and do my best at the exercise-thing too!
I was reading that laughing can have the same relieving qualities for stress as exercise.  I know I have heard this before, but it was good to hear it again. Research has proven that when you laugh, your muscles relax, your stress hormones decrease, your immune function improves, your blood pressure lowers, your pain triggers go down, your blood sugar levels lower, you forget your problems and your skin appearance improves. Wow, now that's a pill to cure an ill:)
The chronic emotional stress can be physically draining.  The thing with meanopause is that the stress response is constantly or frequently activated in your body (unlike a healthy short duration of stress) and we often must sit perfectly still while this war is being waged within us, hence the psycho strong mood swings.  This is where laughter and exercise can really tame the beast and keep us sane! 

Like any other test in life, the blessing is the work that God is doing within us.  I know that...but it's still a tough road.  They say that meanopause is the time when women are really convinced that there is a God, and that he's male!  hee hee This is where prayer comes in.  My prayer life has been beefed up again, just like everything else in my body:) 
In all seriousness, this scripture verse is what inspired my writing, as I mentioned above:
"We are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.  For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal." ~2 Corinthians 4: 16-18~

We are all just passing through this life, aiming for the glories of the next.  The changes in our lives, regardless of their nature, are sure signs that we are not meant to stay the same.  I remain open to God's plan, regardless of the challenges placed before me.
In the meantime, knowing this meanopause too shall pass, I plan on laughing it away with a prayer and a song...and
referring back to this post as I am sure to forget!

A Prayer:
Help me, Lord, to embrace life's cycle.
When my emotions fluctuate, steady me. When my body temperature rises, shade me beneath your cool, comforting shelter. When my spirit falls, lift me up, Oh Lord; remind me that I am blessed, that I am beautiful, that I am desirable, that I am whole. When I find myself envying younger women, teach me, God, how to rejoice in the joy of others. Open my eyes to the abundant gifts that surround me each day.
I thank You, God, for making me a woman, for the beauty of youth, for the joy of marriage, for the miracle of childbirth, for the blessings of motherhood, for the beauty that comes with age, for the wisdom of my years. Thank you, dear Jesus for comforting me in this time of need.  In your most Holy name, I pray. Amen.

A Song:
Sing to tune "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."

You'd better veg out
Have a good cry
Utter no doubt your "friend" is bye bye
Menopause is coming around

She's making a fist
Mom's ain't quite right
Drug store specs corrected your sight
Menopause is coming around

You bloat when you are sleeping
It's hot when you're awake
Just throw away those rags for good
And enjoy the chocolate cake
So...

You'd better rock out
Estrogen buy
This could be the best part of your life
Menopause is coming around

All of this is safe, effective, and free of charge!